The Town of Brownsburg was recently awarded two grants that will enhance the municipality’s initiatives to keep recyclable materials out of landfills and lessen the impact of pollution on our water. The Town received a grant from the Hendricks County Solid Waste Management District for an education program and is a recipient of the national Coca-Cola Bin Grant program.

With funding in the amount of $730 from the Hendricks County Solid Waste Management District’s community grants program, the Town will design and produce recycled paper placemats with clean water and anti-litter messaging to let individuals and families know about simple steps they can take to help reduce the amount of trash they litter or send to landfills.

The place mats will provide information about source reduction, recycling, and safe disposal of household hazardous waste, yard waste, and e-waste presented in a graphically appealing design. They will be double-sided, with kid-friendly games and puzzles. Local restaurants will be invited to use the eco-messaged place mats to reach busy families as they sit together for a meal, and hopefully prompt diners to talk about or complete the activities while waiting on a server or food to arrive.

The Hendricks County Solid Waste Management District provides waste reduction, reuse and recycling education and services to residents of the county through in-school education for students and adult outreach programs. The District operates two yard waste recycling centers and three drop-off centers for paper, glass, steel, aluminum and plastics. It sponsors four Tox-Away Days each year for residents to properly dispose of household hazardous wastes and problem wastes.

Executive Director Lenn Detwiler said, “The District is excited to again be able to partner with the Town of Brownsburg to provide environmental education to the families in our community.”

The Town will receive 25 recycling bins this summer to place at local government buildings, parks and special events, thanks to a grant made possible by Keep America Beautiful and The Coca-Cola Foundation. The 60-gallon bins will be used to collect glass and plastic bottles and aluminum cans. Of more than 1,200 applicants this funding round, Brownsburg is among 156 local governments, schools, colleges and community groups nationwide to receive the recycling bins grant.

Keep America Beautiful is the nation’s leading nonprofit that brings people together to build and sustain vibrant communities. Keep America Beautiful offers solutions that create clean, beautiful public places, reduce waste and increase recycling, generate positive impact on local economies and inspire generations of environmental stewards.

“Through our support of the Bin Grant program and our long-standing partnership with Keep America Beautiful, we are helping to bring sustainability to life in local communities across the country,” said Lori George Billingsley, vice president, community relations, Coca-Cola North America Group. “By increasing access to recycling today, we build sustainable communities for the future.”

The Coca-Cola Foundation has awarded more than $500 million to support global sustainable community initiatives, including water stewardship, community recycling, active healthy living, and education. In its seven years of operation, the Bin Grant program has placed more than 29,000 recycling bins in more than 500 communities in 48 states and the District of Columbia.

“One of the main barriers to recycling is convenience. Providing a recycling bin helps communities overcome that barrier,” said Matthew M. McKenna, president and CEO, Keep America Beautiful. “We are truly grateful for Coca-Cola’s support and commitment to recycling, and for its support and commitment of the Bin Grant Program.”

The Town of Brownsburg’s commitment to enhancing the quality of water it provides to the community and ensuring a sustainable future includes efforts to keeping recyclable materials out of landfills. Its semi-annual community-wide recycling events allow area residents to drop off appliances, electronics, and other hard to recycle items along with the more common paper, aluminum, glass and plastic recyclables. Since the first event in 2010, the Town’s recycling events have diverted nearly 60 tons of waste from Indiana landfills, reducing the potential of leaching into waterways and groundwater and keeping toxic chemicals from reaching wastewater treatment processes.

“The average American throws away more than 4 1/2 pounds of trash a day – almost a ton of trash per person, every year,” said Brownsburg Town Manager Grant Kleinhenz. “Of the garbage we throw out, half of it could be recycled. Reducing litter and diverting materials from landfills lessens the impact of pollution on our water, and we all benefit with clean drinking water, a more attractive community, recreation opportunities, and a healthy fish and wildlife habitat.